"Over the Cliff" by Crooks and Liars bloggers John Amato and David Neiwert is, so far, a bit of a slog -- it's rehashing a lot of what I know in a dry and judgmental way.

2

People forget that Sean Hannity was informing viewers of Barack Obama's "radical ties" long before Glenn Beck hauled out a chalkboard. Conservative Victory puts Hannity back in the Obama-bashing vanguard.

3

Mark Lilla's "Tea Party Jacobins" is the first meditation on the movement that seems to have struck a chord.

The internal contradictions of Adams' story haven't stopped him from expanding his media presence this week, most recently with a local TV interview in which he repeated his claims (some of them based on popular "birther" rumors from the web) while, confusingly, stating that he didn't think Obama's eligibility was an issue.

Yes, it's slightly disturbing that even 26% of a party's electorate would vote for Taitz. And it will continue to be news if elected Republicans jump on board with the birther quest, whether led by her or by someone else. But let's stop talking to her and stop indulging her.

Still, there was a less colorful defeat for believers in that conspiracy over in South Dakota. Chris Nelson, the GOP secretary of state, had speculated that Obama's citizenship might be a scam. He watched a huge early advantage crumble and lost handily to first-time candidate Kristi Noem.

The quick take -- this is an impossible election to predict. Taitz could win in a squeaker. She could lose by 90 points. We don't know, which is why California Republicans will spend the next eight hours idly wishing they'd raised Damon Dunn's profile a bit and made Taitz a non-factor.